


A Simple, Dumb Bowl of Soup

by Astrellia



Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Adoption, Attempted Kidnapping, Cinnamon Roll, Cute, Epithet, Fluff, Gen, Hurt and comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, On the Run, Soup, Sweet, Theft, Toy Store, adopt, dumb, h/c, larceny, platonic, tbd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22331365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astrellia/pseuds/Astrellia
Summary: Giovanni has had enough with Molly's clearly abusive situation and decides to take matters into his own hands without thinking. Kidnapping may be illegal, but what's the point of being a bad guy if you can't do a little good? In fact, some rules were meant to be broken.
Relationships: Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage
Comments: 100
Kudos: 252





	1. Crime and Punishment

**Author's Note:**

> Giovanni has had enough.

On dark and chilly nights like this one, most stores in Sweet Jazz City weren't open for business. None would be open this close to one in the morning besides the occasional Walmart or McDonald's, anyway. Hours before, most of the exhausted workers clocked out, locked their doors, and went home to their loved ones. All the lights were off and the streets were hushed. Except for one small toy store, that is. 

As the door of the toy store was pushed open, a soft jingle of a bell broke the near silence. A young man walked through the door, bundled up in a heavy coat to fight against the chill and a scarf that covered most of his face. He was mostly plain, save for his bright bubblegum pink hair. If someone witnessed the man walk in, he definitely would have looked suspicious. Not only did he decide to do his shopping in the complete dead of night, but he wound up at a small family toy store of all places. They probably would have assumed he was there to rob the place. In affect, he was. Unlike any regular, run of the mill burglar, money or goods were never on his list of priorities. 

Giovanni looked around the store for the one thing he came for. Though he didn't find it from an immediate scan of the room, a few of the teddy bears caught his eye. One of them in particular called to him. The bear had beautiful, chocolate brown fur, but one of its button eyes had come loose. Giovanni wasn't sure why, but just looking at it made him want to hold it. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the soft, curly toy. The man gently pushed the bear's eye back in the correct place and hugged it before he set it down. He knew that teddy bears were unbecoming of a good, self-respecting Bonzai Blaster like him, but he also didn't care. He didn't even get a few more feet before he quickly pivoted and grabbed the bear. 

With his new companion, Giovanni continued his search. He found everything from race cars, to Barbie Dream houses, to science kits, and even little plastic instruments, but he really wasn't looking for any of those. In fact, he wasn't in the market for toys at all. When he had gotten frankly bored of searching he resorted to more direct methods.

"Helloooooooo?! Is anyone here?" Giovanni Potage called, as he got slightly more impatient. When he received no response, he began to tap his foot and mocked checking an invisible watch. "You know, you aren't gonna sell a lot of toys if you don't respond to customers, Bear Trap. Especially if that customer is.."

Giovanni cupped his hands to his mouth, in an effort to make his already generally loud voice even louder. 

"THE GIOVANNI POTAGE!"

The pink-haired young man struck a pose near the front desk. He looked around one last time in anticipation, but he couldn't see even his friend and minion's normally recognizable poofy hair. Defeated, he dramatically slumped down over the cash register and held up his little teddy bear. "Looks like it's just you and me, new and improved Bear Trap!"

As Giovanni held the stuffed toy, it occurred to him to check the price tag. Even being the best super villain in all of Sweet Jazz City, he was going to pay for it of course. If he was being honest with himself, he really never actually stole anything valuable. Clearly a bear made of such high quality as that was worth paying for, anyway. He turned over the small little tag on the string, only to find a sum that he never expected. He reeled back in shock.

"THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS for this piece of garbage?!" Giovanni pouted. Nevertheless, he checked his pockets. Most kids his age had a wallet, or at the very least a little pocket attached to their phone case. Giovanni Potage was most definitely not most people, however. He just had his coins and bills quickly shoved into his pockets like some sort of animal. The boy stuck his tongue out a little as he searched for the bills.

It took a solid half a minute of searching for him to inevitably get bored and dump out all of the contents of his pockets. A few Hamiltons, some mismatched baseball cards, knitting supplies, a slightly-dented phone, some coins including one or two dollar ones, and other miscellaneous items ended up scattered all over the front desk. Once Giovanni found the money he needed, he noticed something odd. Underneath all of the chaos the boy himself unleashed, papers were strewn all over the desk. Numbers and words were carefully calculated on each of them. It didn't take a genius to determine that they were very important, but Giovanni had never seen anything like them.

He blinked.

"Are these...tax statements?"

He gingerly picked up a sheet and inspected it. Who in their right mind would be doing tax statements, something clearly too complicated for Giovanni, while working a shift at a toy store of all places? Everyone knows that multitasking doesn't actually exist, and that people can only really focus on one job at a time. Doing your taxes is equally as exhausting a task as working in retail, just in different ways. Even the lovably dumb Giovanni himself could understand that. Only a crazy dummy would do both jobs at once. The young man knew immediately that there was probably only one dummy crazy enough to do that: _his_ dummy. _Molly._

Once he put two and two together, it didn't take long for a knot to form in the boy's stomach. Something wasn't right. Something was wrong. He had only come in to check up on his friend after their escapade at the museum. It's true, he hadn't known Molly very long, but surely he would at least get a, "Hi, how ya doin'?" Even if he wasn't friends with her, the bell did ring when he entered the door. Quickly, the boy glanced at the window, which had a "closed" sign in it, meaning that it would read "open" on the outside. As a worker, surely she would have at least acknowledged her customer. Giovanni's happy-go-lucky usual expression darkened for a second only to be replaced with worry. Then he laughed nervously in an attempt to shake off his weird feelings.

"H-ha ha! V-very funny, kid. For real, though, where are you?" the young man said anxiously.

A worried smile stretched across his face as he glanced around. He peered over the desk, and immediately his stomach sank. Before he could even process what he looked at, his body practically moved on its own. First, the toy he intended to buy slipped from his hands and onto the floor. Then he fell to his knees and stared, horrified. He struggled to figure out what to do as he froze. His growing fear had apparently been warranted.

A small, frail looking body laid abnormally sprawled on the hard floor. Some of the star clips were still in her brown curly hair, however others were broken or scattered around her. Of course, Molly wore her signature bear hoodie. If she was in a different position, the hood might have acted as an impromptu pillow, but alas. More tax papers littered the floor, and a couple even came to rest in her hood. She hadn't even let go of one of the files and loosely clutched a pen in the other hand. Her arms nearly curled up normally to her chest, but her legs were unnaturally angled to the point where they might have even been ever-so slightly twisted. Not to mention her body didn't seem to be moving.

What hurt Giovanni the most was the expression on his young friend's face. She looked completely and utterly exhausted and defenseless. Her eyes were closed in a pained expression, but he could only see part of it since she was on her side. Still, the tears on her face hit the boy like a ton of bricks. To Giovanni, simply looking at the real Bear Trap in that state felt wrong, like he saw something he was never meant to see. As if that was a deeply personal thing that he accidentally walked in on like someone changing or using their epithet for the first time. He flinched and had to look away when he couldn't take it anymore. It genuinely hurt him to see the poor girl that way.

The boy finally struck up the courage to touch her. He slowly and gently grabbed the little girl's hand to reach for a pulse. At first, he couldn't find it at all and started to fear the worst. However, Giovanni muttered under his breath to remind himself that it was only because of his inexperience with this kinda thing. His heart stopped beating for a second and anxiety consumed him while he searched.

"Nononononono. No. You're gonna be fine," he whispered in a panic, more to himself than to Molly. 

He found her pulse after what felt like an eternity. Molly seemed to be fine. A wave of relief washed over the boy as he sighed and let go of her hand. She didn't respond at all, so he assumed she was just out cold. After he knew that she was safe for the moment, Giovanni glanced back up at the counter. It was then that it really sunk in how hard the girl worked. She had to fill out each and every one of the papers all around her, man the store, make the toys, and still get up for school in the morning. From the little information the boy got at the museum, her home situation was awful. A smart kid like her shouldn't be working at her age, much less past one A.M. or do taxes. 

The more he thought about it, the more anger Giovanni felt. How could a parent basically force their own child to do all their responsibilities for them? What kind of sick, twisted person could ever allow a wonderfully amazing, twelve year-old girl to be in such an awful situation? What if that deadbeat had been beating her? Giovanni didn't understand or know about most of the girl's problems, but he knew a few things. Molly didn't deserve this. She should never have gone through whatever she did. The boy didn't care if he only knew her for a few weeks, this was wrong. A girl like her should be worried about a stupid crush or getting a guy to like her. Not in a million years should whether she eats or not be her problem. The boy hated to think that for his tiny friend, passing out of exhaustion could be normal. 

Giovanni clenched his hands. Without thinking, he grabbed the dumb teddy bear, stood up, and started to move. He shoved his things back into his pockets, then he swiftly took off his coat. When he had his coat off, he squatted down to carefully push Molly onto his back. Her arms hung over his chest limply, while the young man supported her legs. He veered unsteadily for a moment thanks to the new weight, but regained his balance after a few seconds. After putting his coat over the piggy-backed little girl, he slowly started to stand. Giovanni was by no means a particularly large man. In fact, he was fairly skinny for his age. There were only two reasons that he was able to keep going: 1. He was doing it for Molly. 2. Baseball was good training. 

"Bear Trap, when did you get so big?" Giovanni half joked as he tried to find his balance and leaned on the mess of a front desk. 

Giovanni felt a sharp pain in his side as he stumbled into the corner of the desk, nearly knocking the cash register to the floor. He looked at it for a moment, then his anger started to take the better of him again. That was all _Molly's_ money. She worked hard for it, not her good-for-nothing father. If the boy let the money be, it probably would all be gone by morning. Who knows how much of Molly's money she would actually ever see. Despite his better judgement, he let go of Molly's right leg for a second so he could get his baseball bat with a knife taped to it. 

Before he knew it, the cash register was smashed. Pieces of electronics and plastic shattered and fell to the floor. There wasn't a lot of money stored inside, but the boy pocketed every single cent. The small, frail girl on his back deserved that much. Giovanni sure as heck wasn't going to let the horrible man who forced her into this awful situation have any of it. Hopefully he could give it to her and pay for the toy too when she was awake. No one messes with his minions and gets away with it.

Giovanni crashed, stumbled, and knocked toys off their shelves. At one point a hand painted porcelain music box fell to the ground with a loud crash. The young man quickly scampered away from the crime scene so he wouldn't cut his feet. He thought about bringing the girl to her room, but he had no clue which way that was. It would be awful if he accidentally brought Molly to her father's room instead. Just the very thought of that happening sent a chill up the boy's spine. There was no way he was going to risk that, so he clumsily made his way towards the door. By the time he got there, he looked back and realized that he had practically completely destroyed the place.

Shrugging, Giovanni secured the girl and triumphantly made his escape with the most valuable treasure he could ever steal. The door slammed shut with one last ring of the bell, and all Giovanni could think about was keeping his minion safe.

_No one makes my minions cry and gets away with it, but me._


	2. The Bad Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giovanni escapes with his treasure, only to find out that his problems are just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi~ This is Astrellia letting you know that Chapter 3 is about 3 quarters done. (Ironically). I had a 80 week at school this week and spent all of yesterday working on ACT stuff. I don't know when it will be done, but I have to go to sleep now. I won't be at school Thursday, so I believe that if it isn't done by then, I can work on it.

Giovanni staggered into the cold, dark streets of Sweet Jazz City. Only a few streetlamps illuminated the sidewalk, and there weren't any cars as far as he could see. The young man became painfully aware of the blistering chill since his coat wasn't properly on. At least he had his scarf, but his discomfort couldn't be his top priority. Instead, all he could think about was the little girl he carried. 

Slowly, he took one step and then another. Between the cold and helping Molly, Giovanni's legs were already starting to shake a little. That would be a huge problem considering that he didn't have a ride home. His mom didn't let him borrow the car, and he didn't really trust Car Crash anymore. The last time Giovanni got in a vehicle with him, he totaled it. And the time before that. It's a wonder how that kid even got his license in the first place. He didn't even know which toy store Molly worked at, and had to walk around the city for a few hours until someone pointed him in the right direction. Going into a bunch of toy stores as a young adult definitely caught more than a few odd looks. They probably thought he was a stalker or something, looking for a little girl like that.

So that meant the boy was stuck trudging through the cold, carrying precious cargo. His house was a couple miles from the toy store, and Giovanni wanted to stop to check the directions on his phone. Then he would have to let go of Molly again, and if she fell...Giovanni gulped and tried not to think about that. Nevertheless, he stared down at the sidewalk nervously as he continued and pulled Molly's knees closer in a feeble attempt to prevent her from falling. In actuality, there probably wouldn't be much he could do if his legs buckled under their stress.

The young man managed to carefully make his way a couple blocks somehow. He had no idea how long he had been walking, but it couldn't be more than twenty-five minutes. Still, his house was pretty far off, and he was only halfway sure he was going the right way. Giovanni wobbled over to lean on a nearby building. When he got there, he gently set the little girl down and propped her up against the wall. 

Molly throughout that whole time was completely unconscious, even through the freezing weather and Giovanni's unsteady and clumsy movements. Honestly, he had expected her to be awake, and the fact she wasn't kind of scared the boy. What if something was super bad like she hit her head and went into a coma or something? She hadn't even twitched or adjusted her position. She just lie there limply. 

The young man kneeled down beside the little girl and without thinking put a hand on her forehead. Her body was cold to the touch, but then again even Giovanni was shivering. To be fair though, he gave her his coat, leaving him with nothing but jeans, a dumb graphic t-shirt, socks, worn-out high tops, and his hand-knit scarf to protect him from the elements. He didn't even have that, since he wrapped the scarf around the child instead. Regardless, he gently tucked Molly's adorable curly hair into her equally charming bear hoodie in an effort to keep her warmer, even a little.

Pulling out his cell phone, he turned his attention from Molly. The glowing light hurt his eyes and the boy flinched. Maybe he was starting to get used to the darkness and the night. Before long Giovanni's phone was unlocked and he started tapping away. He scrolled to Google Maps and tried to figure out how far away he was from his house. Luckily, he remembered the correct way and wouldn't have to backtrack. Still though, he hadn't prepared to walk home with someone else. Even after walking probably about 20 minutes, he still had a long way to go. 

Giovanni looked at the tiny, miniature version of the world through his screen. If he had been thinking logically before, he probably would have set his phone to tell him the directions sooner. Oh well. He couldn't exactly think straight. His hands shook from the cold and his teeth started to chatter. One last time he checked for his ETA. Google told him that with the current traffic, he would arrive at his destination at around 2:20 in the morning. Wonderful. Giovanni turned up his sound so he could have Google tell him directions. Thank goodness for that silly, robot lady.

Giovanni sighed and scrolled to check the time and temperature. _27 degrees._ No wonder he was cold. If he was freezing, he wondered what Molly was feeling. Then, he remembered something he should have done a long time ago. Digging into his pockets, he found his thermos full of soup. From the moment the soup hit his tongue, Giovanni felt his worries melt away. With the power of carefully spiced tomato basil goodness, if only for a moment, he felt like everything was going to be okay. Like he was going to make it home without any more hiccups, and he would never let anyone hurt his littlest minion again.

His super cool thermos came with a cup, so Giovanni put his phone in his pockets and poured some of his prized tomato basil into it. However, when he turned to Molly, he noticed something off, for better or worse. Molly had slumped to her side, laying on the rough textured sidewalk. If she wasn't so limp, it probably would have looked uncomfortable. However, Giovanni took this as a promising sign. Since she moved, at least she wasn't dead or comatose. 

"Molly!" Giovanni whispered happily. He couldn't help but offer the little girl a sad smile, even if the little girl would never know about it.

The young man intended to give the soup to her. After all it was too cold to deal without the warm goodness. Still, he would have to wake her up for that. Maybe she didn't have to be completely awake, just awake enough to open her mouth. Then, she could fall asleep on her ride home. If everything worked out well, she might not even figure out she was being kidnapped by the greatest villain of all time. 

Finally, the girl shifted a little and murmured something in her sleep. She didn't say anything intelligible, but it was definitely an improvement.

Gently, Giovanni rubbed her shoulder. "Come on, Bear Trap, after you drink this, I promise you can go right back to sleep," the boy muttered, as kindly as possible. 

The small girl in the bear hoodie groaned a little, but didn't really move much other than that. It took a little while, but Giovanni managed to give her some of the warm deliciousness. Not to toot his own horn, but tomato basil was his best soup. In fact it even won him is promotion to Bonzai captain. He hoped Molly liked it, but most likely she wouldn't remember. Although, the young man remembered that she tasted it at the museum. He was pretty sure she enjoyed it, but he couldn't recall exactly.

He took a few last sips of his award-winning soup before deciding to continue. "I dunno if you're awake, Bear Trap, but if you are, listen to me," Giovanni started to say while he prepared to help the small child onto his back. 

"I'm kidnapping you now," he said rather bluntly, as if he hadn't already done that. He probably should have said that quieter, all things considered. If someone heard Giovanni...well, that would most definitely end badly. "Any objections, kid?"

No response. He expected that much. So, Giovanni once again started on his journey. He held Molly tight as he walked, gazing at the brilliant night sky. Normally, he was too busy to notice the soft glow of the starlight or think about the beautiful moon, but you notice things like that when everything is quiet. Some people don't even notice it even then. The night was wonderful and calming, yet that came at a price. With nothing left to distract the boy, he could only focus on his exhaustion, the cold, Molly, and -even worse- his own thoughts. The darkness and unrest in his own mind sometimes was even larger and abounding than the one he set his eyes on.

As Giovanni wandered through the lonely streets, he couldn't help but let his mind do the same. The terrifying scene that he walked in on played over and over in his head. Why was Molly unconscious on the floor? She probably was just over worked, but that doesn't mean it was fair or normal. It was most definitely neither of those. What had she gone through since the two met at the museum? Clearly, it was anything but good. The small child wasn't exactly the strongest person, but she didn't really seem like a crybaby. Heck, even when faced with her biggest fear, she got back on her feet almost immediately afterward.

Giovanni wondered if she stood up for herself after that night at the museum. He was worried about Molly, even back then if he was honest with himself. She mentioned something about her father and how she had to work in his place. The young man wouldn't have been surprised if she had gone through a lot more. Not to mention, it didn't seem like her mother was in the picture anymore, sadly. 

In her sleep, Molly snuggled into Giovanni's shoulder and pressed her face into his warm scarf. It startled him a little, but that small, gentle action was enough to tear him away from his thoughts long enough to notice his phone was ringing. The sound of the lead singer of his favorite song, _Bad Guy_ _,_ broke through the quiet silence. Since he only checked it what felt like only a few minutes ago, he rolled his eyes and hoped the noise would just go away. Thank God that the whole song was more on the quiet end. Who knows what would he could do if his ringtone was like heavy metal. Although, hard rock was a bit too much for the aspiring criminal.

Thankfully, the silly robot lady cut Billie off. Giovanni let out a sigh of relief as she chimed in,"In about one quarter mile, turn right onto Ostinato Avenue."

"Yeah, yeah. We got it, don't we, Bear Trap?" Giovanni answered. After that, he followed the directions whenever he was told. It wasn't that hard to zone out and still figure out where he was going.

He glanced over to look at the small girl's sleeping face. She still was tired, but he couldn't find a single tear, even if he tried. With every step Giovanni took, her curly hair bounced up and down. She looked serene, maybe even comfortable snugged up in all of her layers. In fact, Giovanni's coat made her look even tinier than normal. Giovanni couldn't help but give her another soft smile.

Giovanni, wasn't sure why, but he wondered if he was really doing the right thing. His smile faltered, only to be replaced with a melancholy expression as a twinge of guilt seeped into his mind. Instead of figuring out what to do, or even waking Molly up, he just _took_ her. He didn't stop to think about what she would want, frankly. All he saw was that she was in pain. In reality though, maybe he only thought about his own pain. Truly, he only considered how horrible _he_ would feel if he didn't do anything. As he looked back, he worried that maybe he made the wrong choice. 

Maybe she didn't want to be rescued like a princess in a tower. That girl might have wanted to fix the problem rationally using her new found villainy, but Giovanni never took that into account. There is a reason kidnapping is illegal after all. And even if she wanted someone to save her or something, what right did the boy have to take matters into his own hands? As much as he wanted to help her, it hurt to realize he might have done something very wrong.

The pink haired villain shook his head, attempting to push those feelings from his mind. Even if he made the wrong choice, there really wasn't any going back now. When worst comes to worst, he always made a decision. It was better than freezing and not doing anything, anyways. If he didn't find Molly, she would have been passed out in that stuffy toy store. Who knows what would have happened to her if a customer, or even her father found out she was sleeping on the job? 

That's not even mentioning the fact that he, the Giovanni Potage, committed his first actual felony. Sure, he had some misdemeanors under his belt, but he never really considered those actual crimes. They were only loitering. When push came to shove, he always chickened out it, no matter how strong of a villain he pretended to be. No amount of acting could ever magically transform him into a real, horrible, world-dominating, stone-cold killer.

To the young man's annoyance, some noise was sounding. It felt like it was a millennia away, and Giovanni blinked. 

" _Think you're so criminal..."_

Oh. It was just his dumb phone again. Too bad he couldn't take a break to shut it off. He was already so exhausted and tired that all he really wanted to do was lie on his bed, sink into the mattress, and succumb to the darkness. If he stopped again, it would only mean he would stay outside in the below-freezing weather even longer. Not ideal. Even as he thought about how tired he was, his feet quaked and shivered. In order to keep going, he bit his lip and reminded himself that this all was for the small girl on his back. He _had_ to help her, no matter what it cost him or if he made the right decision.

Every footstep the boy took felt heavy. He wasn't sure if it was because of the late hour, the stress, the anxiety, or the sheer amount of exercise had done, but even his eyelids started to droop. He hadn't noticed that happening before. Within a few seconds after he noticed his weariness, he shook himself awake, in an attempt to be alert enough to get his friend home. No one was there to help him if he passed out. He tried to force his mind to pay attention to the ringtone that continued to go off.

"... _I'm that bad type, make your Momma sad type,"_

However, that only made Giovanni think about his own mother. What was he going to tell her when he got home? There was absolutely no way he could waltz in with Molly. That would basically be either a free ticket to jail or at the very least a good old fashion lecture. His mother's lectures were no joke. She wasn't a woman to be trifled with. Then again, one couldn't expect anything else from the greatest Bonzai Captain Sweet Jazz City had ever seen. Not to mention, he probably would already get one for being out passed his curfew. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even allowed to ever have a girl friend over at all. 

Giovanni continued to string together any half-baked plan at all while he followed Google's directions. Before he knew it, he found himself in front of his mid-suburban home. He practically ran to the front door, but realized maybe that wasn't his best bet for survival. So, he carefully stepped down off the porch and made his way to the back. At the very least, he hoped Molly would like her visit. Even if it wasn't exactly her idea. He also hoped that he could sneak her inside to the warmth.

When Giovanni got to the backdoor, he remembered in a brief moment of genius that he rarely locked his windows. As he realized this, his eyes widened and a smirk plastered on his face. He probably could just have gone through the back door, but the boy wasn't thinking clearly or logically at all. Like the skilled thief he was, he pushed open the small frame. 

"We're finally here!" the young man whispered excitedly. 

It didn't take as long as Giovanni expected to gently help Molly through the window. His bed was right there, so it wasn't like she would fall anywhere and get hurt. Through the window, he could feel the alluring warmth at his fingertips. He was so close! Before he could think about any of his worries or pain, he climbed in the window after Molly. Somehow, throughout all the odds and anxiety, he managed to safely get the girl away from her no good father. Now, she was in the capable hands of a no good criminal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness. This was...faster than I expected. I couldn't stop writing! Haha. I find myself thinking about this story more and more. The longer I work on it, the farther down the rabbit hole I go. I was really worried that this chapter wouldn't be as engaging or lovable since it is literally only Giovanni and his thoughts. Then I remembered that what the first chapter was basically. I'm sorry this chapter is more quiet and somber, but I don't think Soup Boy can keep up his charade while completely exhausted and stressed. That also means this was all over the place. OOOF. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'll have the third chapter out soon, hopefully not as soon as this one. RIP SLEEP!


	3. Getaway Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giovanni escaped with his treasure, but how can he keep it a secret?

Into the mess of blankets and baseball memorabilia Giovanni fell with a thud. Thankfully, the mattress broke his fall, and he managed to avoid squashing the tiny little girl with her assortment of coats. The young man took a second to smile at her. Molly lied sprawled out with her rain boots that sunk into the car seat pillow while her hair curled and fell off the side. They really made it. Instead of seemingly endless walking, Giovanni could snuggle in his warm covers until he could feel his toes again. Well, he definitely would if Molly didn't need the bed, anyway. After more than an hour and a half, she would finally be able to rest halfway decently.

Before the criminal started to move, he quickly pulled the window closed, stopping all the cold air from coming in. Still his shivering persisted. He still felt frozen, and for some reason getting out of the cold didn't change that. He shrugged it off, convincing himself that he would feel better soon. Only one thing mattered to him at that moment, Molly.

The pink-haired boy sneakily maneuvered around his sleeping friend. As he held his breath, Giovanni attempted to pull himself up using the rear view mirror with as little movement or sound as possible. Anyone other than the Bonzai Captain probably could have accomplished that much. Alas, his dexterity was never that superb, especially if he was completely exhausted and still couldn't feel his toes, or even his feet for that matter. The criminal grasped the mirror, but he stumbled and tried to find his footing. 

Giovanni slipped, but caught himself just before he could literally crush his minion. Thankfully, she was too tired to wake up from all his wobbling. Trying again, he managed to stand upright. He tiptoed over her, holding his arms out for at least some balance. That didn't last long either. When he was just about to make it out of the car, his shoe caught on the very edge of the car door. Giovanni was so careful not to step on Molly, that he totally wasn't looking where he was going. 

He careened over the edge. Giovanni tumbled and hit the ground before he even realized what hit him. The resulting crash left the boy's head spinning and his body aching. He rubbed his head, messing up his previously perfectly chaotic do.

"OWW!" he groaned instinctively,"Geez, that hurt! Why ya have to betray me like that, Destruction Mobile?"

To show that he was a "certified upset dude", he kicked the car-bed, but not near the flames. Those were too cool to damage, and he even had to put the sticker on himself. Then he reeled, winced, and held onto his foot in pain. That was not a good idea.

Giovanni understood that he was pretty done, but he did not realize just how big a ruckus he was making. That wasn't the only noise in the quiet room, though. Even on the ground and preoccupied, the young man could hear a shifting from above him. He peered over the car to find the little girl. Giovanni expected to see her shift in her sleep again, but she groggily blinked back at him instead. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and her eyes darted around the bedroom. They widened and Molly groaned as she failed to recognize her surroundings. Though she was still tired, at least some of her fatigue gave weigh to an odd expression. 

Giovanni couldn't tell if the little girl's face showed more confusion, terror, surprise, anxiety, or -weirdly enough- relief. Whatever it was, the Bonzai Captain couldn't decipher it. However, Molly was most awake. Great. He hadn't even started to plan his evil kidnapping speech, let alone plan for such a rude awakening. He may be a the greatest "Soup-er Villain" to ever live and breathe, but that didn't mean he wanted things to go down like that. He wanted to like turn off the lights and maybe make a few Phantom of the Opera references at the bare minimum. Sadly, she woke up in his cheesy race car bed instead.

"Wha-" the little girl started, only to be cut off by her boss. Before she could even finish her word, he leaned over and cupped his left hand over Molly's mouth. Shushing her, he covered her with the blanket as fast as he could. He could feel his worry as he anxiously stole a brief glimpse of the door. Somewhere in the hallway, wood creaked under the weight. While Giovanni scrambled to find more things to cover his stolen Bear Trap, he couldn't help himself from staring at it.

His heart raced as he scanned the room. He never considered his room a complete pigsty, but he also never remembered where he set things. Giovanni ran to the closet and threw it open hastily. When he found more covers, the boy rushed back to the bed and piled them on. He couldn't tell if Molly was still awake, but his Mom probably was. He was way past curfew, and she always stayed up until he got home safely.

"Welp, I'm dead," the criminal muttered under his breath to the pile of blankets. When Giovanni couldn't see her anymore, he clenched his teeth and braced for impact. Try as he might, he couldn't figure out how he could salvage his situation. There was no way Mrs. Potage would let a girl be in his room at all if she found out. That had always been a rule in the house, but he never quite understood why. In his experience, most girls were more responsible than practically all his minions, so it wasn't like they would break anything. Not to mention that he was literally six hours past his curfew. There was no way in heck that was going to slide. 

The young man wondered what his mother would say if she ever found out that he kidnapped a little kid. In any other context, that would be genuinely one of the worst things he could do in his mind. The only crime worse probably was straight up murder, that he could think of anyway. Not only that, but he committed a federal crime. No matter if he got off the hook by some miracle, he would still know what he did. However, if his mom found out, Giovanni was pretty sure that was a one-way ticket to prison.

Crime wasn't particularly new to the woman. She even payed most of Giovanni's entrance fees. It wasn't that she supported hurting other people, but it was more that she was happy he had friends. Back in high school, he never really had that many. Baseball was his whole world, and his teammates meant the world to him. Every second of every day was spent thinking about baseball, hanging out with his teammates, or actually playing the dang game. Very little of his time was spent actually doing school work. He never imagined it would end that quickly though. Since baseball meant everything to Giovanni, it made it so much harder to say goodbye after his last game.

No matter how hard he pretended otherwise, the boy hated goodbyes. Saying it was just a, "See you later!" didn't help at all. The truth was that his time happily playing baseball had to end. Everything that begins ends, as sad as it is. The very last game of his high school baseball career, he cried like a little baby the whole way home. After his final days of senior year, he didn't even get to see his team very often. They all got busy with either work or college, so Giovanni had to find new friends. Even if he pursued a professional baseball career, he wouldn't have his team, so it wouldn't be worth it. 

One thing led to another and he ended up with the Bonzai Blasters. They really weren't capable of any harm to anyone, and pretty much everyone knew that the majority of members were just kids like him. Kids just want to belong to a club, -any club- make real friends, and don't want to grow up just yet. Regular Bonzai Blasters wouldn't even get arrested if the higher ups weren't basically using vulnerable teens as human shields. It may have been a pyramid scheme, but then again, capitalism is too. In the grand scheme of themes, it basically was a way you could pay to make friends.

So it isn't that big of a surprise that the boy's mother let him join, and even encouraged his "crime." As silly as it sounds, it gave him people to care about again. Having a cheesy band of misfit wannabe thieves was better than sitting at home doing nothing with his life. Giovanni's mother was probably just happy he had a happy life with his friends again. However, that didn't mean she was actually okay with something as serious as kidnapping. For all he knew, if she found out about Molly, everything was over. What if she didn't love him anymore? What if she kicked him out of the house or forced him to leave his boys?

_What if Mom hates me?_

Giovanni's thoughts were cut off by the creaking of his bedroom door.A familiar figure stepped into the room, brandishing a skillet as an impromptu weapon. She held it over her head, but she relaxed when she noticed that it was only her son. She sighed and turned on the light. "You scared me, kid. I thought you were a burglar or somethin'."

Even though she lowered her weapon, she still seemed upset. Maybe it was her expression or the way she spoke, but Giovanni had a feeling that he wasn't off the hook. He awkwardly smiled back at her as innocently as he could muster, but he was pretty sure it came off just making him look even more guilty. To his credit, he at least tried.

"I-I'm sorry, Mommy," the boy offered apologetically.

She frowned and put her hand on her hip. "Do you even know how worried I was?"

As she stared daggers at the boy, it only made him feel worse. He shifted and fidgeted on the ground, twiddling his thumbs uncomfortably. 

"It is literally past 3:00 in the morning, young man! For all I knew, you could have been _kidnapped,_ " the angry mom continued. 

_If only she_ _knew_. The young man slumped in his shame at those small, specific words. Normally, he would at least try to argue back, even if just for argument's sake, but not tonight. All he could do at the moment was sit there. His eyelids drooped and his body ached. He just wanted to go to bed, so he winced and tried not to respond. Apparently, not acknowledging his mother wasn't what she wanted. It didn't take long for her to get annoyed. 

"You could have at LEAST answered my phone calls and my texts! Where even were you?!"

Giovanni blinked and searched for an excuse. He quickly scrambled to find one, but when he opened his mouth to answer, his mother cut him off. Flicking on the lights, she stepped into the room and her expression morphed to show her confusion. She gestured towards the gigantic pile of blankets that hid Molly. 

"What's up with the mountain of blankets? I know it's cold, but geez!"

He genuinely tried to come up with an explanation, anything at all. However, his mind was blank. Nervously, his eyes darted around the room, searching for one.

"U-uh..I-I found a cat?" the boy tried uncertainly. Sensing how he probably wasn't making his case very well, he tried again. "Y-yeah! The poor thing would've died!"

He could see her eyes as they glanced from the boy to the covers. As she walked closer and closer, his heart skipped a couple beats and he held his breath. She practically stood over him. If she found Molly hiding in the blankets, he knew he would be a goner for sure. If he was lucky, maybe he would get a nice cellmate in jail. Even Mr. Murdock would be fine. At least Giovanni actually knew him. Looking her in the eyes, he watched nervously as he felt a cool finger press against his forehead.

The boy's mother leaned over him and kissed his forehead before he could even comprehend what was happening. Giovanni blinked in confusion. Wasn't she supposed to be angry at him? Well, maybe not angry, just disappointed. Even if she wasn't that upset, she wasn't normally that forward. It wasn't that much of a surprise that he was kind of taken aback. 

The woman's expression softened a little when she opened her eyes. Gently, her fingertips slid down the side of Giovanni's face, almost resting on his sorry excuse for a stubble. He couldn't figure out why she was doing this. He couldn't understand. Then again it was so late that his exhaustion wasn't exactly a surprise. That didn't explain why even minutes after Giovanni escaped to his lair and closed the door, his teeth still chattered. Now that he thought about it, he still couldn't feel his toes. Or his fingers for that matter. Still, the unexpected contact felt awkward.

"You're shaking like a leaf. You might need all of those blankets," Mrs. Potage cooed, almost uncharacteristically soothingly. She always was the kinda loud, boisterous mom who was the life of the party, but always told the most mortifying stories at said party. Sweetness and grace just weren't her cup of tea. The criminal knew her long enough to do that. When you only have one parent, you spend a lot of time with them, go figure. Naturally, he always knew where he got his extroversion from.

With a soft smile, she ruffled her little son's pink, fluffy hair and stood back up. As he gazed back at her face, he noticed something. For the first time in a good while, he faced the same tired, melancholic, bitter sweet smile he did way back after his final baseball game. It almost hurt seeing her so _concerned._ In an effort to help her, Giovanni did what he does best. The boy smirked a little, gathering what little energy he had left.

"MOM!" the boy pouted, though he suspected that his playful smile might have given him away.

"My hair! How dare you tarnish such precious locks of..."

The boy tried to find an acceptable follow up, but he couldn't think of anything cool enough. After a few seconds of pondering, the mother broke the silence, letting out a snicker and a few giggles. Before long, her sad smile gave weigh to a genuine one. If nothing else, a small smile was a good sign in his eyes. He smiled back, and it felt like maybe things would be okay as his mom started walking back to her room. The further she was from the bed, the more he felt his butterflies flying away. When she was at the doorway, she stopped to turn off the light.

"Alright, Mr. Souper-villain! Get some sleep. We can talk about this later," his mom said as she closed his bedroom door. 

Giovanni felt another wave of relief wash over him. He hadn't expected kidnapping to be _this_ hard. To be fair though, he hadn't thought at all when he made the split second decision to abduct the small girl hiding in the blankets. Remembering that she was still under the mess of covers, he started to push the layers out of the way carefully. When he got to the bottom layer, he found Molly curled up next to a pillow. She still wore her hoodie and her boots, but her eyelids were closed and her breathing was steady. Even though he was exhausted, Giovanni knew at that moment that he wanted to do everything he could for her.

It probably wasn't a good a idea for her to sleep with at the very least her shoes on. Rubber boots probably are super uncomfortable to sleep in, not to mention that they could mess up the semi-clean bed more than the pile of blankets. "I'm sorry, Bear Trap," the boy whispered to his friend while he took off one shoe, and then another. Amid the chaos of the car, the boy noticed the teddy bear he wanted to pay for at the toy store. Without thinking, he smiled down at the little girl and gently wrapped her arm around it. Then, he neatly tucked her in with only enough comforters to feel cozy, but not overbearing. 

With the rest of the blankets, he made a makeshift bed on the other side of the room. He didn't even have a pillow or anything, but that was okay. He was too fatigued to care anymore, anyway. He could barely stand up, let alone care where he slept. As he drifted off and his vision started fading, Giovanni whispered his last goodnight. Even if she wasn't awake to hear, it made him smile just knowing she was safe just a little while longer.

In fact, he was so tired, he barely registered a tiny response,"Goodnight, Boss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading this silly little fanfic of mine! It isn't much, but I work very hard on it. Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. Hopefully chapter 4 doesn't take as long and I can get it out faster. If you liked this chapter, comment down below! I love seeing your thoughts and opinions, even if they aren't about my fic. Thanks again, and have a spectacular day! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading this! This is just me being bored with a few hours on my hands. Let me know if you want to see more of this! I think it's super cute, so I am going to have a few more chapters at the very least. I have no clue when they will be out though because the next few months are my busiest time of year. I'm in a production of High School Musical right now and I'm the captain of my FRC robotics team. Comments and any constructive criticism are always welcome! Have a great day!
> 
> THANKS FOR 500 VIEWS! Oh my goodness. I never expected this many people to read my story this fast. O.o I don't know why you are reading, but thanks!
> 
> Thanks for 600 views! OMG. Literally, this story has only been out a week and a half. That is literally insane, and it is giving me life. I really want to work on this story, but I have currently 14 hour work days right now. When I'm not in class, I'm tutoring, 3d modeling, building, in theater, playing DND, or volunteering. I don't ever talk to anyone really at school. Everyone always puts the job on me and I literally do not even have time to do my homework. I'm so exhausted and I relate to Molly on a spiritual level. I guess if I'm honest, I wish I had a cup of soup myself.
> 
> Sorry for the feelings and all that. What I was trying to say is that Chapter 3 is in the works, but not anywhere close to done at the moment. For this occasion, I will give you a few hints. 1. There will be a choice of an extra episode you will get down the line. 2. There will be two character perspectives in total (Other than extra). 3. Actions have consequences. Everything I do is intentional and don't let me forget it is there. Literally comment if there is something that hasn't come back up after Chapter 5.
> 
> GOOD LORD 1000 VIEWS HOOOWOWOWOW! That doesn't even make sense. Like actually. Thanks for reading my dumb little story. I don't know what to say. Yall are amazing I guess! I hope that you guys like where this is going, but I also know that it might be a while 'till the next chapter. Again, I'm under a lot of stress and pressure right now, so I relate to Molly on a spiritual level. Hey, writing this and seeing your comments give me hope. Seriously, I can't thank you guys enough. :)


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